The Silent Phantom
by Kitsune no Iryjon
Summary: For Naruto, a silent and lonely day is normal day while a day that he was forced to spend with his family is the Apocalypse.He have no idea that his so-called Apocalypse will dawn on him very soon. Neglect fic! Alive Minato and Kushina.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys!**

**I just had this one in my head for quiet a while now and I kinda thought, maybe I could share it with you guys since I had some free time. Don't worry about my other fic, I already had the next chapter organized, I just need to write it down.**

**Send some suggestions and advices! Please tell me if you like this one. If, you do then I'll make another chapter. Like always, please, read, rate and review!**

**I do NOT own Naruto or any of it's characters.**

A faint sound of muffled music echoed throughout a white plain room. Boot clad foot tapped lazily on the wooden floor while slender fingers drummed on the covered bed's side.

A young man in the age between 15 to 16 years old sat on his neatly cleaned bed; he often bobbed his head up and down as he listened to his favorite songs. Blonde silky hair swayed with his movement, Maya blue eyes hid themselves behind his closed eyelids, pale yet, healthy skin rested over his twitching muscles when the cold air occasionally hit his lean body. His name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze.

Years of neglect had finally led him to a life of uncaring what his _family_ did to him or to themselves. A phrase that he once encountered as a child would always pop in his head when he sees the diamond perfect family that he was supposed to be connected to.

_Someone has to sacrifice for others happiness._

A simple set of words that had a deep meaning to it. The message was simple and, of course, he could fully understand the message clearly since he, himself, is a genius. But sometime, he would wonder;

_Is it really necessary for someone to sacrifice his or her happiness for the sake of others?_

The question was never answered, as usual. He didn't bother to ask his _family_, he had long time given up on them ever giving him an answer to his questions; much less sparing him even little attention. The fact that he was left alone by his own flesh and blood was heartbreaking but that depressed feeling slowly went numb, like his heart.

At the first few years, he tried to understand what his parents had done. Since his brother did have that Kyuubi sealed inside him, he agreed that his brother really do need extra attention and his parents did promise that they would spend some time with each other. And the same excuse they would use is;

_Just a few more minutes, son/sochi. Will be right with you._

He was happy with that, he would wait...and wait...and wait but they never showed up. The same excuse would be used if he tries again and like always, minutes turned to hours, hours turned to days, days turned into weeks but there was still no sign of his parents' intent to keeping their promise. He tried to understand, he really did but he couldn't help but feel sad and alone.

The next couple of years went the same; the excuse, the wait and the sadness at the end of the day. It was like a broken tape, playing over and over again. Something changed, though. No, it wasn't that they were giving him any attention, nowadays. Heavens, no. The excuse that they would use changed. Instead of the old one, they replaced it with;

_Sorry, son/sochi. But Arashi needs to train the Fox's chakra._ Or. _Arashi needs more attention, he's special._

Naruto had gone deeper into sadness, he clearly knew why his brother, Arashi, was special but to ignore your own son not only in training but in parental love and support? Seriously, he always thought his parents were better than that but he guessed he was wrong. Years passed and attempts to catch or earn his parents' attention failed, Naruto begun to get tired of the same answers and excuses they would try to sell him, his mind started to register that his parent really wasn't going to try.

_Don't fix something broken when it wants to stay broken._

That was something he learned in those few passing years, he started to ignore his family's actions like what they did to him. Naruto ceased his tries and started doing things on his own, he started reading and studying on how to write, he first read story books or children's book to exercise and train his mind then, he begun from basic ninja scrolls to advanced ones. Studies on human anatomy, medical and other jutsu scrolls and even animal classifications were already read and piled up in a corner of his room. Naruto could be considered a prodigy that is, if someone even spared him a glance.

The blonde boy trained in secret to make others underestimate him, he rather stayed indoors than outdoors, resulting for him to have such pale skin(he isn't as pale as the Uchihas or Sai but he's still pale compared to his family). He grew silent in and out of the compound, some would even assume he was a mute since he only communicates by nodding or shaking his and occasionally sign language, which was difficult to read since a lot of people don't know to read sign language, except for some shinobis.

Naruto sometimes, uses a notepad for communicating or a small chalkboard. In his first years in the academy, some of the teachers and students tried to make him talk or even ask if he is mute but all they would get is a 'Please go away' sentence on his chalkboard or notepad. Time passed and the pursuers slowly gave up, they got used to his to his awkward silence but they happen to slowly forget his presence. Even though, he was silent, Naruto wasn't completely anti-social. He talked or, rather, wrote to Shikamaru, Choji and Shino, from time to time, even though, he would only start up small talk.

The situation with his _parents_ didn't go so good either, they were subconsciously avoiding him while Arashi was too oblivious to notice that he actually had a brother. The blonde stopped caring, ever so slowly but in the end, he just rapidly ignored them. Don't get him wrong, he doesn't hate his _family _but sure, doesn't give a damn on what they do. If they won't disturb him, everything for him will be fine.

For Naruto, a silent and lonely day is normal day while a day that he was forced to spend with his _family _is the Apocalypse.

He have no idea that his so-called Apocalypse will dawn on him very soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys!**

**I'm sorry if the update was a bit too long, I was caught up with school stuff. By the way, I changed their age here as genins, I apologize if you like their original age as genins but it was how the story worked. Really, really sorry! TT_TT. Another news, I'm going to start counting out votes from you guys on who is going to be paired up in Naruto in my other fic "Broken Mirror Demon". I'm OKAY with yaoi pairings, you guys. I'm not just good with rated M stuff, sorry! So, just send them in and I'll see what I can do.**

**Send some suggestions and advices. Sorry for bad grammar and please, read, rate and review!**

(Chapter 1 - Teammates and A Lazy Sensei)

'_Iruka-sensei really needs to get a girlfriend' ,_thought one Naruto Namikaze, who was wearing a black tank top under a silver or gray sleeveless hoodie, black pants and ninja sandals.

Our favorite silent blonde was currently sitting in his former academy classroom. I say former because a week ago, Naruto had completely passed the Genin exams with average scores, which was beneficial for him. Right now, some of the newly appointed genins were mindlessly listening to Iruka's long speech about how proud he was of his former class while the rest of the teens were already had fallen asleep.

"Hey, did you hear? A mysterious guy captured Mizuki-sensei from trying to steal an important scroll", a girl murmured to her female seatmate, who in reply nodded her head. The two girls continued to gossip, trying to be quiet as much as possible but was unaware that someone had already heard them.

Just right on above the girls, Naruto silently sighed and shook his head; he knew he should have been more careful. After passing the exam, he noticed that their other teacher, Mizuki, had been rather suspicious. The silver haired instructor had been distracted all day, not by the exam but by something he had been formulating in his head. The blonde decided to spy on him and see what Mizuki was up to, he later found the instructor sneaking into the hokage tower.

As he watched quietly in the shadows, Naruto followed his target. After a minute of peace, the blonde spotted Mizuki running of with a large scroll strapped on his back, he promptly followed the Chunin instructor in to the woods and decided to end his plan.

Mizuki didn't personally knew what happened but all he could remember was that one minute he was speeding through the forest with the Forbidden Scroll on his back, feeling all superior, and the next thing he knew he was on the ground all beaten and bloodied with the obvious sign of his losing grip on consciousness. Everything went so fast and confusing that no one knew what had happened. Before the ANBU could arrive, Naruto had already left without any sign of evidence he was there on the scene.

No one knew this, since no one would even care to look, but Naruto was deemed a perfect assassin, he was quick, stealthy, silent and unnoticeable; no one would see his attacks coming, not even a kage. The blonde's skills came from being neglected by his parents. At first, he thought it was impossible but is seemed impossible things could turn possible, sometimes.

His silent personality, his stamina, speed and flexibility were a plus in his skills, his stealth were enhanced when he started 'borrowing' his father's jutsu scrolls while he was at his study, which was inside his family library. Silent killing and assassination techniques were already mastered and are still growing to such extent.

Yup, he was the perfect assassin. Not that anyone knew, yet.

"-and your opponent. Now, I think I kept you long enough. Let's start with Team 1", Iruka finished which earned him sighs of relief and noises of approval from the teens. The newly appointed genins listened intently to his announcement while Naruto still tuned out Iruka's words until he hears his name.

"Team 7 will be composed of Sasuke Uchiha..". Iruka purposely paused for the fangirls to squeal, he already knew of this with the experienced he already had.

Sitting next to the window, away as much as possible from his annoying stalkers, Sasuke, who was wearing a high collared blue shirt with the Uchiha symbol on it, white pants, white wrappings or tape on his lower legs, black ninja sandals and wristbands, grunted and continued to stare out the window without a glance to his old teacher but the grunt that he made was a sign that he heard his name on the said team. His reaction caused a massive backfire of squeals and 'seducing' swoons from the females in the room, which irked him.

"…Arashi Namikaze…", again, loud squeals were heard while the men in the room covered their ears from the sheer volume.

From the second row seats, Arashi smiled in happiness, earning dreamy sighs from the girls. Arashi was wearing a blue short-sleeve shirt under a red sleeveless vest, ANBU styled pants and blue ninja sandals, he had red uncontrollable hair and blue eyes with a purple tint from both parents, he had a slightly round but still narrow face and whisker marks on his cheeks as a sign of being the fox jinchuuriki.

"…and Naruto Namikaze", Iruka lastly mentioned. The females sulked while the males blinked in confusion. Wasn't that guy the one with the chalkboard?

'_Eh? Naruto? That name sounds familiar…Oh yeah! Naruto-nii! Wonder where he has been. I haven't seen him in…a while'_, Arashi honestly couldn't think of a time when he talked or spent time with his brother. All his memories were about him and his parents and how the village had been giving him so much attention. A sharp pang of an unfamiliar feeling filled him, something he couldn't understand.

'_The quieter than an Aburame loser? Hn. As long as he doesn't get in my way, it's fine'_, Sasuke thought as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked out the window, further ignoring everyone's presence.

"Team 7 your sensei will Kakashi Hatake", Arashi's eyes widen at this but nonetheless, was glad that his sensei was who he considered a big brother.

Like everyone else, Kakashi also ignored Naruto as he grew up; he favored his sensei's jinchuuriki son than the other. The scarecrow jounin helped Arashi with his training as a sign of loyalty and gratefulness to his sensei for the things he had done but subconsciously left his sensei's other child in a lonely void of happiness.

Naruto didn't care who his sensei was or who his teammates were, he just cared about finally becoming a shinobi and showing what his parents had missed. Of course, he wasn't intentionally making them feel guilty. In fact, he didn't care what they felt, he stopped caring years ago, he started ignoring instead; like what they have done.

Knowing the famous copy cat nin's lack of punctuality, the blonde took out his favorite Rubik's cube and started fiddling with it to solve its puzzle. The cube was given to him by his very first friend and best friend when he was a child; his friend wasn't from Konoha and was only there because of his father's important visit to an ally.

Both became attached to each other since both had the same experience in a different angle. Naruto's friend once told him about his life back in their village, he was ignored and treated like a monster, his mother died and his father was rather cold to him.

Indeed, both had a rough life, a reason why both are such good friends. Time passed and they begun to treat each other like brothers but all things had to come to an end. His 'brother' needed to go back 'home' with his 'father', they had no choice but to separate. It was hard to see your precious person leave but knew they would see each other again.

A few minutes later, the jounin instructors started to collect their teams. One by one, they left for their meeting until Team 7 was the only ones in the room. Patience was wearing thin for two of the three teens while the other quietly sat on his chair.

2 hours later and still no signs of their sensei, Arashi was about to yell in frustration when the door suddenly opened and revealed a man with gravity defying silver hair, a half face mask and his forehead protector tilted in an unusual angle that covered his left eye. The man's one visible eye lazily glanced over the three teens and spoke in a nonchalant voice.

"Meet me on the roof in 5 minutes", he said and disappeared in a puff of smoke. The three genins were left to stare at the door for a few seconds, dumbly wondering what just happened.

Sasuke snapped out of disbelief and stood up from his chair; Arashi did the same and walked over to the door before remembering something.

"Hey, wait. What about Naruto-ni-", he red head glanced over to his brother's desk to find said person gone.

"Eh? Where did he go?", Arashi asked to himself, only to shrug and continued to make his way to the roof, feeling excited and pumped up.

(At the Roof)

Kakashi was casually leaning against the railing of the roof while Sasuke was sitting near the flight of stairs and Arashi was standing next to him. The silver haired male's eyes curled as if he was smiling, he was about to start introductions when he noticed something.

"Eh? Where's the last one?", he wondered. The sound of something plastic turning was heard, they turned their heads to see Naruto sitting cross legged on the floor near them, he was still occupied with the Rubik's cube and his small chalkboard was lying next to him.

"Oh, never mind. Anyway, why don't we start with introductions? Share things like your likes, dislikes, dream and hobbies. I'll go first, My name is Kakashi Hatake , I don't feel like telling you my likes and dislikes, my hobbies are none of your business and my dream…well, you're still too young to know. Next, red head", Kakashi introduced, sort of.

'_All we learned was his name'_, the three genins sweat dropped at the introduction but ignored it and proceeded.

"I'm Arashi Namikaze, I like training, ramen, my family and cool new jutsus, I dislike arrogant and judgmental people. My hobbies are training with my parents and my dream is to follow my father's footsteps and become hokage!", Arashi announced loudly and pumped his fists up in the air with great enthusiasm.

"Alright, now, Mister Sunshine over there", Kakashi said, lazily pointing a finger to Sasuke's direction. The said Uchiha grunted in annoyance and glared at the jounin because of the nickname he gave him.

"I' am Sasuke Uchiha, I like a few things and I dislike many things. My hobbies are training and my dream, no, my ambition is to kill a certain traitor", Sasuke sneered at the last two words, this wasn't gone unnoticed, it caused Arashi to raise an eyebrow while Kakashi and Naruto unnoticeably shook their heads.

_'This revenge thing is going to be taken too far, someday. I can already feel it'_ , Kakashi and Naruto both thought.

"And lastly, silent type guy", Naruto simply puts down his Rubik's cube and lifts his chalkboard; he scribbles some sentences and turns it to show them.

("**_My name is Naruto Namikaze, I like puzzles, books, music and training, I dislike self-centered and power-hungry fools, who only care about power, fame and fortune. My hobbies are reading books, training, listening to music and solving puzzles. My dream is to became a great and strong shinobi to protect the people I love_**")

Kakashi nodded in understanding, he pushes himself off the railing and faces his new students.

"Okay, now that's done. Come to Training Ground 7 tomorrow at 8 o'clock sharp. Don't be late. Oh, and don't eat breakfast, you'll just throw them back up. Ja!", Kakashi informed and left via shunshin.

The three genins left after that and headed back to their respective homes, they were both excited and nervous for tomorrow but they never knew what was coming.

**Finished!**

**Can you guys guess who his first friend is? Of course, you can! Just think really hard! If you know already in the first try, please tell me what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, guys!**

**Sorry if updates took too long. Got a lot things to do these few weeks and I didn't have the time. Also, I'm going to remind you guys (mostly the ones who already read my other fic), again that I'm taking up suggestions for the pairings on my first fanfic. (Yes, I' am okay with Yaoi) I'm not sure if I'm going to add a pairing in here but we'll see. BTW, I want thank all the people who made great and helpful feedback. I really appreciate it!**

**So, leave suggestion and advices. Sorry for the bad grammar and please, read, rate and review!**

**Oh, I do not own Naruto or any of it's other characters!**

(Chapter 2 – Regret, Guilt and Late Realization)

Kushina Namikaze, a beautiful and caring yet, deadly woman, was happily humming as she sliced the vegetables for her and her family's dinner. Today was her precious son's team assignment day and in a few moments, her beloved sochi-kun will be arriving with the news of his new genin team. The red head was felling very proud of her son, images of her child as one of Konoha's greatest shinobis swarmed in her mind, her lips curled in a proud smile while tears of happiness escaped her eyes.

Kushina was truly happy for her son, sniffing as she wiped the tears of happiness away and continued on with her cooking. The woman, who was dubbed as the Red Hot Blooded Habanero, never knew that those tears of joy would be soon be replaced with tears of sadness, guilt and shame.

A knock at the door drew Kushina's attention; she wiped her hands on her clean kitchen towel and walked out of the kitchen to check who it was. A man with blonde hair and blue eyes was revealed as soon as the door was opened, the man she loved and married smiled at his beloved wife. Kushina returned the smile with a warm and welcoming one of her own; she walked over to her husband, embraced him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Welcome home, honey. How was your day?", the red headed woman asked. Minato Namikaze sighed and closed the door behind him.

"It was fine. As usual, it was full of doing dreadful paperwork. Kami, sometimes I wonder if Hiruzen only wanted to get away from the paper menace by sacrificing himself", Minato joked but the sign of tiredness were present in his blue eyes. Kushina chuckled at her husband's antics, she knew of the all Kage's nightmare and/or enemy because of her blonde lover's daily whining-I mean complaint about the dreaded paper torture.

"I see. Well then, dinner will be ready soon. So, you just sit and wait", she informed and walked back to the kitchen to continue making dinner. The blonde hokage sighed in content, he felt like he was the luckiest man alive with how his family turned out; a perfect one.

With a wife who was as beautiful, kind hearted and loveable like a goddess, and with a son that was selfless and determined as his parents, who would ask for more? Minato was more than thankful with what he had as his loved ones but something wasn't adding up, he felt like he had forgotten something; something important.

Just when the blonde was about to remember, a slam of the door woke him from his thoughts. Arashi was seen by the front door with a big smile; the red head hurriedly ran to his blonde father and gave him a hug. Minato was surprised by the sudden action but returned the hug; nonetheless, he smiled at his son, who was happily ranting about his day with meeting his team.

"Alright, alright, Arashi. You can tell us about your team in dinner. How about you go upstairs and clean up", Minato advised and watched his son enthusiastically nod and ran up the stairs to the bathroom.

"Minato-koi, it's time for dinner!", Kushina softly exclaimed from the kitchen. The blonde hokage nodded to himself, he got up from the couch he was sitting on while he was thinking and headed to the kitchen. A few seconds later, the couple was joined by their son.

"Welcome home, Arashi-kun! How was your day, sochi? ", the red headed woman asked while they sat down on the chairs.

"It was awesome, kaa-san! I met my team and I found out that Kakashi-nii is my new sensei!", Arashi beamed. At the mention of the familiar name, Kushina narrows her eyes and glances over to her beloved husband, who was currently sweating bullets from the look his wife gave him. It wasn't a secret that Kakashi Hatake is a pervert, if the small book with a 'Not for Age below 18' sign on the front that he always carry around wasn't proof enough and like any other women, Kushina does not approve of perverts. Getting her innocent Arashi-kun tainted is the last thing she wants.

"Oh, really? Well then, you better do your best on your team missions, sochi. It's dangerous out there, you know", the beautiful woman sternly said. Arashi grinned and gave his mother a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, kaa-san! I'll be fine. I'm a shinobi now, aren't I?", the jinchuuriki reassured. Kushina just proudly smiled at his son, knowing her precious sochi would be fine; he is her and Minato's son. The _small_ family laughed and shared stories with each other about their days, not even noticing another figure, who had been there the entire time but had seemed to be invisible to them, sitting with them on the family table.

Minato chuckled at his son's happy outbursts at they ate together, Kushina often giggled at the sight of her happy family and Arashi laughed as he shared dinner with his loved ones. An unfamiliar feeling shot through Arashi as he glanced at his father, something about blonde hair and blue eyes filled his mind while his family glanced curiously and worriedly at him. The red headed teen furrowed his eyebrows and his lips adopted a frown, he felt like he was forgetting something.

'_Blonde hair and blue eyes...Hmm...Oh, that's right! Nii-san has blonde hair and blue eyes like Tou-san...Wait. Where is Nii-san?',_ the red headed jinchuuriki asked himself. Minato and Kushina glanced at each other in worry and reverted their attention back to their son.

"Son? Is their something wrong?", the blonde man asked as he laid his hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed it comfortably. Arashi broke out of his thoughts, he looked into his father's eyes and nodded.

"Yeah! I'm fine! I just thought of something", Arashi replied before he adopted a playful thinking pose.

"What is it then?", Kushina softly questioned.

"Where's Nii-san?", the red head asked staring intently at his parents, who both froze in place.

Images of a 5 year old blonde boy flashed through both parents' eyes, memories of scolding and ignoring the sweet innocent child played in their minds and a cute squeaky voice was heard as if imaginary.

"_Kaa-san, Tou-san, can you come with me to the park, now?"_

_"Can you please teach me some cool ninja stuff like what you teach Arashi, too, Tou-san?"_

_"Kaa-san, my cut hurts. Could you please treat my wound?" _

'_Naruto_', both parents thought with guilt and worry.

"Oh, no...Naruto-kun...Naruto-kun! Oh my god! Sochi-kun! I forgot about my Naruto-chan!", Kushina panicked as she stood from her chair. Arashi stared at his mother with a raised eyebrow while Minato numbly stared off into space. The S-ranked female shinobi continued panicking, thinking that her poor son had been kidnapped or had run away because of their neglect, or even worst, he was already kille-

_Knock Knock Knock_

The Namikaze family blinked, they turned their heads and found a blonde teen, who looked like he was around Arashi's age, staring back at them with blank eyes, he looked strangely alike Minato, except for his eyes, which were a couple shades lighter, and paler complexion than they had. Kushina and Minato felt a sense of dread as they stared at the boy, not knowing what to do; utterly speechless. Why? Because this boy just sneaked up on two high-ranked shinobis without them even sensing his presence or chakra.

"Nii-san! Where did you come from?!", Arashi exclaimed. Ever since this morning, the red head had found his brother quiet interesting, he awed at how his brother could go unnoticeably sneak up on one of the most alert people he knew. Although, the stealth skill amazed him, Arashi found the silence of the blonde a little bit disturbing and uncomfortable, he wished that his brother would at least make any kind of noise but Naruto stayed tight-lipped.

(**_"I got here a few minutes after you got home. You just didn't notice_**_** me**"_), Naruto replied by using his small chalkboard. After replying, he sets down his board and resumed eating while his family silently watched his movements.

Minato and Kushina saw the interaction and couldn't help but feel guilty for neglecting their child that resulted for him to be socially mute. A sharp,painful pang of regret and shame reached their hearts, thinking and reminding themselves that it was their fault. The couple weren't stupid, yes, stupid for abandoning their own child but not stupid to be oblivious to the fact that they've missed a lot about their son. Soon, they predicted, more surprises would be revealed to them about their neglected son and they're not that enthusiastic to know what they've ignored for so many years.

From now on, regret and shame will always be following the Namikaze couple and will forever haunt them until they earned their son's trust back. Boy, this is going to be a **BIG** challenge.

**Finished!**

**Did you guys noticed that Naruto was kinda like Kuroko Tetsuya from Kuroko no Basuke because of his unnoticeable presence? I just thought it would be cool, makes the Phantom part have sense. Anyway, tell me if you like it!**


	4. Sorry!

**Hey, guys!**

**Sorry but this is not a chapter. The latest chapter was somehow deleted and I couldn't get it back. So, I had to repeat the whole chapter again. I was about to update today but like I said, it mysteriously got deleted. The whole thing might take a while so, please be patient and I'm really sorry if it's too late to update.**

**I apologize, every one. TT_TT**

**-Kitsune no Iryjon**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys!**

**Sorry about the delay. Like I said in the apology chapter, my latest chapter mysteriously got deleted and I had to start over again. The worst addition was our exams were approaching again and projects were being given to us by our teachers. Exams were done monthly so, every month we had an exam to finish.**

**(Sigh) Anyway, please, read, rate and review! Sorry for bad spelling and/or grammar! And if you have any suggestions and questions then, please, inform me! BTW I'll be showing you guys a preview of a story that I'd been working on at the end of the chapter!**

(Chapter 3 – Teamwork and Uncomfortable Silence)

The sun shined brightly this faithful day for the land of Konoha. Peace and quiet seemed to be radiating from all over the village like how a newborn baby radiated off happiness and innocence. Ah, yes, it was certainly a sunny, peaceful, silent, quiet day-

"**TEME!**"

-Or not...

'_Ugh...These two should really learn how to lay off from each other_', Naruto thought as he watched his two teammates bicker like little girls fighting over the same plush doll or how fangirls fight over them, it was really immature. The three teenagers( even though, the last one was still unnoticed) were all waiting for their sensei like yesterday and like yesterday, the redheaded jinchuuriki and the brooding raven's patience wore thin. But unlike last time,both decided to vent their annoyance on each other by throwing insults and _harmless _attacks, here and there.

"Baka, you don't even know how to give a good punch. How did you even come second before me?", Sasuke taunted as he dodged a not so light punch from the blonde. Arashi gritted his teeth in anger, his knew his attacks weren't useless, he trained with his father; the Hokage and his mother; an S-class shinobi for God's sake! His punches were **NOT** weak!

"Your scores just came a little bit higher than mine, Teme. Don't boast so much when you don't even know who you're dealing with!", Arashi growled as he launched another one of his powerful kicks at the side of the raven's head, who nearly got kicked in the cranium. The two continued insulting and fighting while Naruto quietly sat on a tree branch and blankly watched the scene with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

'_Really. They're 15 to 16 years old, they should act their age_', the silent blond shook his head exasperatedly, he was getting tired of his team really fast because of their current attitudes. At first, Naruto thought that his brother was the only problem since he wasn't very comfortable with any of his _family_ members but when he realized that the raven male of the team was the complete opposite of the other, the blonde started to develop an irritation towards his team, plus the silver haired jounin since he was slightly part of the reason he was so lonely all his childhood.

_PUFF!_

'_Speak of the devil_', the blonde turned his attention towards the puff of smoke that appeared near the fighting duo, who stopped their hostile activity towards each other. Kakashi stood before them with his usual lazy eye smile, he had one hand in his pockets and the other raised in a lazy wave.

"Yo!", the jounin greeted as he settled his visible on his two students, he then raised a visible eyebrow before turning his head in random directions, as if looking for something. This earned confused expressions from Arashi and Sasuke. The blonde jinchuuriki tilted his head in a questioning way, he crosses his arms and glares at the taller male.

"You're late, Kaka-nii! What are you looking for, anyway?", the blonde vessel asked, earning a sheepish reply from the jounin in front of them.

"Heheh. Sorry. I got lost in the road life...", Kakashi scratched the back of his head, a sign of slight embarrassment. Naruto rolled his eyes. Really? This was his best excuse for being late? So much for the famous Sharingan no Kakashi. Naruto leaned on the tree trunk and relaxed his shoulder, trying to get comfortable.

"Where's the other one?", the copy cat nin asked. In cue, the silent blonde jumped down from the tree, that quickly grabbed the others attentions, he slowly walked up to them with both hands in his pockets. Kakashi dumbly blinked and shook off his stupor.

"Anyway, I'm glad you guys came because today, we are going to the test!", the silver haired jounin proclaimed, causing the teens to raise and eyebrow.

"What test?", the redhead questioned, confused with the proclamation. Kakashi blinked at the question.

"Wait. I didn't tell you, yesterday?", the jounin tilted his head in fake innocence and confusion.

"Yes!", Arashi shouted.

"Oh, well then. Sorry! I guess I forgot to tell you that today, you are taking the genin exams!", Kakashi gleefully explained, enjoying the teens reactions, which were; surprised, surprised and...bored. The Sharingan user sweatdropped at Naruto's neutral expression that simply screamed "I don't give shit!".

"What!? But we already took the exam. That's why we're here!", Arashi gasped at the information while Sasuke had his mouth slightly ajar. Naruto, on the other hand, still maintained a calm aura as he listened and watched.

The silver haired jounin then proceeded to explain the rules of the test, which just shocked the two other newly appointed genins further with the fact that only two of them will be able to pass the test. Determination flared from each teen but the most silent of the team was more determined to find the true meaning of the test. Something surely smelt fishy about the situation and Naruto was going to find out why or what.

"Alright, let's start the test! But before that, I just want to inform you that you should come after me with the intent to kill", Kakashi takes out the timer, sets it and starts. All together, the three genins disappeared, two jumped up to the trees and the last one vanished in plain sight. The jounin instructor narrowed his eyes, he was quiet impressed with the blonde's mastered stealth and speed.

Kakashi glanced up to the sky and quietly sighed, it was such a peaceful day. The birds danced around up in the endless heavens and the trees moved at the beat of the breeze. The sun was shining but it wasn't so harsh, it's brightness was mellow yet, still cheerful. It was a shame that they had to do this whole test when they(he) could have relaxed instead. Well, whatever. It was time to find his students.

After a few minutes of hiding, Arashi was the first to attack and attempt to retrieve a bell. Kakashi gracefully dodged his punches and kicks, more attacks were delivered but not a single one hit it's mark. The two nins exchanged attacks at each other for a solid 30 minutes, long enough for anybody to know that those two meant business.

Arashi charged up one of his father's famous techniques, the Rasengan, and ran up to the jounin. Kakashi nearly got hit with the chakra sphere and was almost injured, luckily, he dodged at the last minute and managed to avoid the blue ball of energy. _So close! _The redhead growled in annoyance.

"Ugh! Come on, Kaka-nii! At least let me land a punch!", Arashi groaned in frustration, he never did win any spars with his big brother figure, even with a little help from Kyuubi. Kakashi just chuckled at the boy, shaking his head in a decline but he had to admit, he was proud that he almost landed a Rasengan on his person.

"Sorry, outoto (sp?). You can't just request your enemy to let you land an attack on them", the jounin then delivered his own attacks and successfully knocked the redhead out. Kakashi lifts the boy and ties him up on the wooden post, he then leaves to find the others.

Sasuke came up next and like the redhead, he almost came close to have land an attack on their jounin instructor. The raven even launched a fire ball at the older male, who almost got incinerated. Kakashi knew he shouldn't be playing around with these kids because all of them were prodigies but this is just ridiculous! He never guessed that a mere teenager could produce such strong jutsu, preferably that** BIG**!

Punch after punch and kick after kick, the two nins battled just as hard as the last one but Kakashi was more superior. The silver haired jounin had managed to distract the teen and disappear into a jutsu. Sasuke looked around; up, right, left..-!

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu_(Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation__ Technique)_!", two hands bursts through the ground and grabs hold of the _last _surviving Uchiha by the ankle before swiftly pulling the body down to the ground until the neck and head were the only parts stinking out from the earthy trap. Sasuke squirmed and struggled just to get out of his prison but to no avail, he remained partially buried.

Hovering over the struggling raven, Kakashi silently chuckled in amusement. Ah, yes, it was always fun seeing others misery. He then turns around and walks away, setting off to find his last student.

Meanwhile, two eerie glowing blue eyes shined through the shadows of the tree shades. No emotion was showed by the two gems but miniscule traces of irritation could be spotted. Trained hands sped through a short series of hand signs before a puff of smoke appeared beside the figure. Another set of emotionless blue eyes shined through the thin smoke. The two figures nodded at each other before one of them left in silence.

Sasuke grunted in annoyance and anger, he had been feeling more uncomfortable than before in his hard and dirty prison. Sweat was already trailing down his forehead and his breathing came into pants in exhaustion. Feeling tired, he stopped struggling and proceeded to take a feeling of a cool shade hovered over Sasuke's head, looking up he was met with blank blue eyes that- he guessed- could stare into your soul. The two blue orbs looked as if deep, yet, closed off oceans, it felt like even heartless monsters would stop and stare at those beautiful eyes.

Realizing that he had been rudely and uncharacteristically staring, Sasuke shook off his stupor, he was about to ask the blonde why he was there when a small chalkboard blocked his view of the silent teen.

"(**_You know, I could help you out of there and we can work together to get those__ bells_)**", the brooding avenger narrowed his eyes in annoyance, he believed that he, alone, can get one of those bells and pass. He didn't need anyone to hinder him or weigh him down of his plans. Sasuke scoffed and glared at his fellow teen in front of him.

"I don't need your help. I can get out of this and get a bell on my own. Now, leave me alone", Sasuke arrogantly stated, even though there was a small part of himself telling him to take the offer but no, he decides to cling into his pride and never let go. Naruto felt this and sighed. Another of his special skills were feeling or hearing someones inside voices (**I didn't know what to call those "small parts of ourselves" so, I just called it inside voice. You know, those voices you here when you're in situations that involves bad or good things**), he didn't know how or why but whatever.

'_Pride and arrogance. Yup, that's what's going to end your existence, someday, Uchiha. I just wish you'd realize that Itachi only did what he needed to do before it's too late_' Naruto mentally sighed as he left the raven alone, partly buried in the ground. The blonde glanced up in the sky, he sighs. It looks like time is almost up, the test was almost over. Good thing he didn't have to worry about the bells.

**(Time Skip - 1 hour)**

Arashi groggily woke to the sound of the rustling trees and the soft heat of the sun, he found himself tied to a wooden post with chakra resisting binds. Struggling to free himself, the red head squirmed and wiggled in place. The binds violently scraped his skin as he moved about but he didn't mind, it would heal anyway.

The faint sounds of footsteps was heard, Arashi glanced up to see his brother-like figure carrying something or someone on his shoulders. The figure seemed to be squirming as well. Upon closer inspection, the figure seemed to heavily tied up from bottom to top with the same binds he was in. Kakashi eye smiled at his _outoto _before he gently laid the wiggling body next to the redhead. Arashi's eyes widen at the sight of Sasuke tied up with tape over his mouth to silence him, the raven just looked at him with pathetic eyes before it was covered by a fake harsh glare.

"Alright, since none of you had, somehow, taken a single bell from me; you all fail", Kakashi announced while ha watched his students panic.

"What?! But we've gotten close to the bells, isn't that good enough!?", Arashi disbelievingly shouted with Sasuke mentally nodding in agreement. The older male just shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry, you had to _steal_ the bells from me, not just merely touch it", the two genins stares in shock at the jounin, they're chance of being one step closer to their ambition was burned to ashes until they find a way to rebuild it. Protests were starting to bubble in heir throat, they were about try and reason when-

_Ching..._

The sound of jingling bells echoed in the trio's ears, they all looked back to see the said quieter than Aburame blonde holding the two bells. An awkward silence filled the training ground, no one moved a muscle. The three males (Arashi, Sasuke and Kakashi) were each trying to slowly process the picture they were staring at.

Naruto secretly rolled his eyes, he knew the three were still dumbstruck but he was getting impatient. So, he tossed the bells at the jounin, who pathetically caught it in a dazed state. The silent blonde then went _puff_ and disappeared in the smoke. A single page of a notepad was left behind.

( _**My two teammate can have both bells. I care not if I was sent back to the academy, it's much better than each of us trying to kill each other for a bell. Although, I already figured out the test; it's about teamwork. You can decide if we pass or not,** **Hatake-san**_)

At this, Kakashi just blinked in confusion and suspicion, he then face his two trapped students and proceeds to sheepishly rub the back of his head.

"Well, it looks like you guys pass the test. Congratulation, cute little genins. Our first mission will start tomorrow. Gather at the bridge at exactly 8am. Don't be late! Ja!", the jounin exclaimed before disappearing in a puff of smoke like the blonde teen. The two genins stared unbelievably at the spot where their sensei was until Arashi whooped in joy and Sasuke sighed in relief, they were happy to pass, even though they weren't the one to cause so. Forgetting that they were both still tied up, they both celebrated in their own way.

**Finished!**

**Preview:**

**"It's been, what I could guess, years since I last seen the bright shine of the ever cheerful sun and feel the slightest bit of warmness and heat. I have been trapped in this cage for as long as I could remember, not that I could track down how long anyway. The numbness of my body made me feel like I didn't even have a body, it made me feel lifeless."**

**Tell me if you like it and I might publish it completely. Thanks guys!**


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